Technical Field
The present invention relates to advertising and, more particularly, to providing advertising recommendations to users based on physical browsing information in a manner that does not compromise user-privacy yet maximizes utility of the data to the ad-provider.
Description of the Related Art
Targeted advertising based on online browsing data of users is well established. However, recent advances in portable electronics have provided the ability to collect information regarding users' physical browsing data. Physical browsing information includes data based on users' behavior in physical stores and other locations. Physical browsing data includes locations that the user visited, user videos, pictures, audio, etc., and provides a wealth of information if used effectively for targeted advertisements. However, physical browsing data is very sensitive, as it contains private information about the users.